Unthreaded
It is a disgrace that none of these golf comments are anything to do with CO2 induced global warming. Just like lightning strikes in Bangladesh.
Of course the Eurovision song contest is all about politics, to match the EU's climate policies.
golf charlie
mikeh:
Reminds me of the joke about the famous golfer who swore every time he missed a putt. 17th hole at Augusta, a thunderstorm rolling in, the Masters at stake, 1 up on his rival, and the putt rolls round the edge of the cup and out again. "Damn, missed!". The heavens open and God says, "If you take my name in vain again there will be consequences..." Up the 18th, both hit the green in 2. His rival sinks his putt. He pushes his past the hole. "Damn, missed!" he shouts. The heavens open, and a thunderbolt hits his rival. God parts the clouds and sees the disaster. "Damn, missed!" he wails.
It doesn't add up...
Just heard on BBC Radio 2 that the Eurovision song contest was a triumph for cultural diversity (or some other spin twaddle) Nothing to do with music then.
Didn't the EU's head of climate change say that even if climate science was all wrong, it wasn't important, as it was all about wealth redistribution?
golf charlie
Salopian
The origins of golf- don't overlook the Chinese.
http://www.golf-information.info/asian-origin-of-golf.html
Messenger
Re Golf and Lightning......
The story goes that, during a tournament in the US, the question of the risk of strikes was raised at a press conference. One golfer's reply was that, during storms, he would walk down the fairways holding a 1-iron above his head. When asked why that would not be dangerous, he replied that not even God could hit a 1-iron.
(Variously attributed to Arnold Palmer, Max Faulkner and others)
mikeh
In hindsight it is be regretted that Greenland chose to leave the EU, and by so doing probably became ineligible for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. We then all could have voted for their entry (Permafrost Blues?) so forcing all the luvies and hangers-on to travel to Nuuk the following year. How would they cope with singing Nunarput utoqqarsuanngoravit? Would Norton have swallowed his tonsils?
How Wogan would have laughed.
Alan Kendall
Eurovision 2016:
Ukraine's song was distinctive because it had a meaning. That meaning being, "Look out. Russia's dangerous".
Much of Europe would agree with that.
Polish ex-pats seem to be more loyal to Poland then ex-pat Brits are to the UK. Perhaps that's because UK ex-pats are retired / older and don't feel that the UK is the same country as the one they left. Yet Poles are effectively commuters, for the first few years in their new countries at least.
Or it may be that the juries and the public have different views on the music.
I obviously didn't watch any of the songs so can't comment on that.
M Courtney
golf charlie
I'm a bit of a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, or it is known in our house "Europe's Got Talent (but we won't see it tonight)". The voting last night was interesting, as the votes of the nationl juries and the phone in votes were given separately, and apart from Australia and Ukraine the countries getting the highest scores were wildly different. Poland going from last to third as a result of the phone in vote was probably the most spectacular but Lithuania and Russia also had a respectable performances in the second half voting
This leads me to two conclusions
1. The freedom of movement of people in the EU leads to improved performances at The Eurovision Song Contest
2 Briitish expats are not as loyal to the homeland as those of the new member states.
Make of that what you will.
SandyS
The survival of the EU, as a matter of unity, and political message has been neatly parodied by the Eurovision Song Contest. Why didn't Australia beat the Ukraine?
golf charlie
SandyS
I think the Eurovision voting does demonstrate something about the movement of people and I strongly suspect M Courtney's analysis may be the right one.
You and I are here (I suspect) because we decided that for whatever reason UK was not where we wanted to spend our declining years, it "not being the country my father died defending". In my case typified by a system where police lurk on open roads to catch motorists clipping double white lines (never happened to me but I know of instances) or where it can be a criminal offence not to sort your rubbish correctly into nine separate containers!
The Poles, as MC says, are still Poles and are only going where the jobs are. Another argument the Leavers are on the wrong side of because these are not "immigrants"' they're commuters!